SASKATOON – Two people charged with the 2015 murder of 16-year-old Danil Mike Tsannie in Saskatoon have been arrested and made their first appearance in court Wednesday.
Erik Harvey Henricks, 25, and Keshia Rose Kakakaway, 27, are both charged with first-degree murder in Tsannie's death. They were remanded into custody after their Feb. 16 Saskatoon court appearance and are scheduled to appear again Feb. 18.
Since her son’s murder in 2015, Tsannie’s mother Claire had made several appeals asking the public for information that would lead to an arrest.
“Finally I (have) been waiting for seven years for this," Claire posted on Facebook Tuesday. “Yes it is relief finally for my son Danil. It will be rough down the road.”
Tsannie’s body was found outside a residence at 120 Avenue I North in Saskatoon around noon on April 1, 2015. Police say an autopsy confirmed that Tsannie died from a gunshot wound.
Saskatoon Police said Tsannie had gone to the home with the intention of spending the night. They also said he was involved with a street gang at the time of his death and this hampered their investigation.
“Danil, at the time of his death, was involved in a gang lifestyle,” said the Saskatoon Police in a 2018 press release. “This gang lifestyle impacted the investigation in its initial stages with an unwillingness of his gang associates to come forward and speak to police.”
In a 2018 video the family provided to police pleading to the public for tips, Tsannie’s brother Jonathan said Danil had just joined a street gang when he was murdered.
“He certainly became friends with the wrong people and within a three-and-a-half month period that’s what getting into that lifestyle happened," said Jonathan Tsannie. "He was a very young vulnerable kid willing to do anything and they used him for a lot of bad crap."
Even though Tsannie became entangled in the gang lifestyle, in the video to police, his mother remembered Danil as “a caring son.”
“On Mother’s Day he made a card saying ‘I love you.’ A lot of good memories. I miss his smile. I miss him so much.”
ljoy@glaciermedia.ca
